Date published: August 25, 2026
Shared Lives highlighted as part of £25 million government investment to ensure care leavers have a home, support and connection
Today’s devastating review ‘You really are on your own’: a study of the early deaths of young people who were in care makes clear what happens when young people leave care without the relationships and support they need. We know from our work across the Shared Lives community, that without love, connection, relationships and a place you call home, people can struggle with their mental health and feel isolated. By matching people who are seeking support to a Shared Lives carer, Shared Lives enables people to find purpose, belonging, connection and lasting relationships.
Pictured: Our Shared Lives for young people leaving care programme team speaking at the Principal Social Worker event in February 2026
We welcome the Government’s £25 million investment to change this by implementing a national rollout of a strengthened housing programme for care leavers, focusing on the expansion of Shared Lives, The House Project, and Supported Lodgings – to every part of England. Shared Lives Plus has been working with Josh MacAlister MP, the Minister for Children and Families and the Department for Education, through our work to deliver our innovative Shared Lives for young people leaving care programme, to shape the Staying Close programme, and will be providing support to local authorities and partners to implement Shared Lives support models across England.
Josh MacAlister, Children’s Minister talked about Shared Lives as an innovative option for care leavers on Sky News.
“And the specific thing we're going to do, off the back of Ashley and Clare's work, and yesterday Ashley and I were at an example of this, is fund models of housing that build community and connection around young people such as Shared Lives Plus, The House Project and Supported Lodgings.”
The stories of the six young people at the heart of this review are extremely sad, with the findings clear; too many young people experience a sharp drop in support at 18, known as the ‘care cliff’.
Josh MacAlister said,
“We owe it to these young people, and to every care experienced person, to change care so that we make enduring relationships the central obsession of the care system. Care must build and not break the relationships that young people need, and this must be the new north star.”
During 2025, there were 112 notifications of care leaver deaths aged 18-24 with just under half of those young people having a disability, mental health condition or support need.
Ewan King, CEO of Shared Lives Plus said,
“Shared Lives exists to support young people leaving care and adults with a support need, to remain connected to people and places – building consistent and enduring relationships to support them to thrive and live the life they want. We know this approach can work. Through our young people leaving care programme, we are already seeing young people remain connected to people they know and trust as they move into adulthood. We are saddened by today’s review and want to work with government, councils and partners to ensure that far more young people can benefit from Shared Lives, wherever they live.”
Making enduring relationships a reality
The Government’s announcement of investment into Shared Lives and other person-centred housing models is an important step towards addressing the ‘care cliff’. Thousands more young people leaving care will have the scaffolding around them to build strong relationships, with a family home environment where the young person is at the heart of decision making. This is an important step towards ensuring that young people leaving care have somewhere they can genuinely call home, as well as people around them who care about what happens to them.
“What I've learned is that home isn't just a building. Home is the people who make you feel safe, who notice how you're feeling, who remember your favourite meal and ask how your day has been. Those relationships gave me the confidence to become the person I am today.”
Yesterday, the British Association for Social Workers (BASW) published their latest podcast; Let’s Talk Social Work – Ending the cliff edge for care leavers where Gracie, our Shared Lives ambassador alongside colleagues from the young people leaving care programme, Rachel Leslie and Mary Stokes, spoke about how Shared Lives can help tackle the leaving care ‘cliff edge’ through stable relationships, belonging and long-term support.
The Shared Lives for young people leaving care programme launched by Shared Lives Plus in 2024 has grown from 12 to 40 schemes and supported 183 care leavers. 68% of those young people are in education, employment or training.
One of the programme’s most significant achievements is helping young people maintain the relationships that matter most. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of young people remained with a carer they already knew and trusted whether that be a previous foster care, or through kinship or Staying Put, reducing disruption at a crucial stage in their lives.
The programme has been shaped by care-experienced ambassadors, who strongly support the latest investment, to ensure more young people experience lasting and strong relationships in Shared Lives.
“Doing the ambassador role has given me the chance to advocate for young people who are leaving the care system into Shared Lives. This is important to me because I feel that young people under the care system don’t have a voice to explain how they feel about their future. Young people need an advocate. I didn’t have an advocate. I’m using my own lived experience to make a difference for young people.”
Shared Lives Plus will continue to work with government, local authorities and care-experienced young people to make sure that leaving care means moving towards greater independence without leaving relationships behind.
Find out more about the Shared Lives for young people leaving care programme.
